Rathskeller Rye?

Pulled this from another post. Aaron or anyone else have any opinion on this 23yo Willet rye bottling from the Seelbach Hotel?
Rathskellar Rye is 130+pf and is a Willet bottling from the same Medley batch, if my taste buds are serving me correctly. I had a taste of it at the Seelbach in Louisville where they still have stock to replace the bottle on the bar when it runs out. I've also tasted an imported VWFRR that was unchillfiltered and more than 100pf (I don't remember exactly) that I believe to be part of the same family. The BMH 23 also seems similar.

That yella whiskey runnin' down my throat like honey dew vine water and I took another slash…

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

It's excellent whiskey. I was told that they have dozens of bottles still, but they won't sell them...meaning people will be able to enjoy it at the bar (for something like $25 a pour) for many years to come.

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

Have an open bottle on my bar now. Outstanding rye. I have a friend who's not a big whiskey drinker but who had a sample a while back and now every time she comes over, she asks for a little pour. I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of bottles at the Bourbon Festival several years ago and now wish I had cleared the shelf. It's like Vintage 21 at barrel proof.

"This is the real article. It is double-rectified busthead from Madison County, aged in the keg. A little spoonful would do you a power of good."

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

It's really funny this thread started as a few of us were just speaking of this last night.I have had only one pour of this in Louisville myself and was amazed,I am a huge aged rye fan and the cask strength is the icing on the cake for this one!I still have some BMH,Ritt's and a few Bowman's bunkered but they aren't the Rath,Red Hook or the Willett but they will have to do,because I will never see a bottle of any of the previous ever.

"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human."
Larry Wachowski​

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

I have since learned that it is likely not Medley, but rather Bernheim. My understanding is that the tanked component of the VWFRR was made up of Medley and Bernheim. The first bottlings of VWFRR were from only one distillery, I believe, but I forget which.

Anyway, with a little bit of water, the Rathskellar is an epic pour! It's incredibly rare to drink CS whiskey distilled in the 80's, so I wouldn't pass up the chance.

"A man comes from the dust and in the dust he will end-- In the meantime it is good to drink whiskey."
-->WhiskeyWonka<--

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

It's from the same stocks as Vintage 23, BMH 23 and some of the early Rye single barrel picks by LeNell and Doug. A retailer in DC picked a few barrels also - I seem to recall the Velvet Glove and the Iron Fist if I'm not mistaken. The Bitter Truth had one that was supposedly from the same stocks too. Not sure about the older Rittenhouse.

If you like deep brooding woody Ryes don't pass up a chance to taste Rathskeller or any of the juice mentioned above, particularly the ones bottled at barrel strength.

Regarding Rathskeller, rumor has it a few cases fell off the truck on the way to the bar at the Sellbach and were available for a very short time at one particular retailer. Inexplicably I saw one at a bar in Atlanta a few years ago.

Re: Rathskeller Rye?

Great info,I forgot about The Bitter Truth and honestly was completely unaware of the two previously mentioned.The Velvet Glove and Iron Fist are two I have been completely oblivious to,it's interesting to see where these old stocks end up and see how the have been distributed through the years.

"To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us human."
Larry Wachowski​